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This Side of Paradise (episode)
Spock finds happiness at a colony where alien spores provide total contentment. Summary The ''Enterprise'' arrives at planet Omicron Ceti III, the site of a colony established in 2264. Unfortunately, the Enterprise's mission is only to catalog its destruction under the bombardment of deadly berthold rays, which were discovered after the colonists left Earth. Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock, Doctor Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, Lieutenant DeSalle, and Lieutenant Kelowitz beam down to the planet's surface to surprisingly discover that Elias Sandoval and the other colonists are not dead after all. Spock encounters Leila Kalomi, a botanist he had met on Earth many years before. She had loved him, but he had been unable to return her love. McCoy is astounded to discover that every colonist is in perfect physical health, even to the point where childhood injuries have repaired themselves. Sandoval attributes this to their healthy lifestyle. Other anomalies are discovered, such as the total lack of any animal life other than the colonists themselves. Leila promises to tell Spock their secret, and leads him to an Omicron pod plant, which blasts him with spores. The spores cause Spock's emotional control to break down, and he confesses his love for Leila. When Kirk hails Spock, he does not respond, forcing Kirk to come and find out what is wrong. Spock manages to blast Sulu and Kelowitz with spores as well, and soon McCoy is beaming the plants aboard the Enterprise. Kirk returns to the ship to learn that Uhura has short-circuited communications, and the entire crew has been infected, and is deserting to the Omicron colony. The spores induce a feeling of total peace plus perfect physical health, and have been protecting the colonists from the berthold rays. Kirk is blasted by a pod plant left on the Enterprise bridge, and almost goes to join the colony, but the strong emotions he feels at the idea of leaving his beloved Enterprise overwhelms and destroys the spores. Realizing that strong emotions are the key, Kirk tricks Spock into beaming up, and angers him sufficiently to destroy the spores in his body as well. Together, the two create a subsonic transmitter that will induce anger in everyone on the planet's surface, and eradicate the spores. Leila beams up to the ship to find out what happened to Spock, and he tells her that he must remain what he is. The transmitter is activated, and fights break out across the colony, destroying the spores. Sandoval expresses regret, noting that they have not really accomplished anything, as any progress they made was purely the result of the spores. He hopes that he and the other colonists can try again on another planet. As the Enterprise leaves Omicron Ceti III for Starbase 27, Spock reflects that his time with Leila on the surface was the first time he had ever been happy. Log Entries *''Captain’s log, stardate 3417.3. We thought our mission to Omicron Ceti III would be an unhappy one. We had expected to find no survivors of the agricultural colony there. Apparently, our information was incorrect. '' *''Captain’s log, supplemental. We have been ordered by Starfleet Command to evacuate the colony on Omicron III. However the colony leader, Elias Sandoval, has refused all cooperation and will not listen to any arguments. '' *''Captain’s log, stardate 3417.5. The pod plants have spread spores throughout the ship, carried by the ventilation system. Under their influence, my crew is deserting to join the Omicron colony and I can't stop them. I don't know why I have not been infected, nor can I get Dr McCoy to explain the physical-psychological aspects of the infection. '' *''Captain’s log, stardate 3417.7. Except for myself, all crew personnel have transported to the surface of the planet, mutinied. Lieutenant Uhura has effectively sabotaged the communications station. I can only contact the surface of the planet. The ship can be maintained in orbit for several months, but even with automatic controls, I cannot pilot her alone. In effect, I am marooned here. I'm beginning to realize... just how big this ship really is. How quiet. I don't know how to get my crew back, how to counteract the effect of the spores. I don't know what I can offer against... paradise. '' *''Captain’s log, supplemental. I think I've discovered the answer. But to carry out my plan entails considerable risk. Mr Spock is much stronger than the ordinary human being. Aroused, his great physical strength could kill. But it's a risk I'll have to take. '' Memorable Quotes "On pure speculation... just an educated guess -- I'd say that man is alive." :- Dr. McCoy, about Sandoval "It's like a jigsaw puzzle, all one color. No key to where the pieces fit in. Why?" :- Kirk "No , don't... No, please!" "It shouldn't hurt; not like this, it didn't hurt us." "I am not like you." :- Spock (reacting to the spores) and Leila "Hey, Jim-boy-- y'all ever had a real, cold Georgia-style mint julep, huh?" :- McCoy "Who wants to counteract paradise, Jim-boy?" :- McCoy "Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is." :- Kirk "No... ''No... I - can't - LEAVE!" :- Kirk, freeing himself from the influence of the spores. "All right you mutinous, disloyal, computerized, half-breed, we'll see about you deserting my ship." "The term 'half-breed' is somewhat applicable, but 'computerized' is inaccurate. A machine can be computerized, not a man." "What makes you think you're a man? You're an overgrown jack rabbit, an elf with a hyperactive thyroid." "Jim, I don't understand." "Of course you don't understand. You don't have the brains to understand. All you have are printed circuits." "Captain, if you'll excuse me." "What can you expect from a simpering, devil-eared freak, whose father was a computer and whose mother was an encyclopedia?" "My mother was a teacher, my father an ambassador." "Your father was a computer, like his son. An ambassador from a planet of traitors. The Vulcan never lived who had an ounce of integrity." "Captain, please don't." "You're a traitor from a race of traitors, disloyal to the core, rotten like the rest of your sub-human race -- and you've got the gall to make love to that girl." "That's enough." "Does she know what she's getting, Spock? A carcass full of memory banks who should be squatting on a mushroom instead of passing himself off as a man. You belong in a circus, Spock, not a starship -- right next to the dog-faced boy." :- Kirk and Spock "Had enough? I never realized what it took to get under that thick hide of yours. Besides, I don't know what you're upset about -- it isn't ''every first officer who gets to belt his captain... several times."'' :- Kirk, after Spock is free of the spores "Captain, striking a fellow officer is a court-martial offense." "Well, if we're both in the brig, who's going to build the subsonic transmitter?" (considers)"That is very logical." :- Spock and Kirk "I am what I am, Leila, and if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else's." "And this is for ''my good? Do you mind if I tell you I still love you?... You never told me if you have another name, Mr. Spock."'' "You couldn't pronounce it." :- Spock and Leila Kalomi, free of the spores "We don't need you anymore-- as a doctor." "Oh no? Would you like to see just how fast I can put you in a hospital?" :- Elias Sandoval and McCoy "Maybe we weren't meant for paradise. Maybe we were meant to fight our way through-- struggle, claw our way up, scratch for every inch of the way. Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute. We must march to the sound of drums." :- Kirk "...for the first time in my life, I was happy." :- Spock Background Information * Bobby Bass, who tries to break up the fight between Kelowitz and the crewman played by Ron Veto, has his only lines of dialogue in the series here. Usually a stunt man on the series, he can also be seen as the guard Khan knocks into next week in "Space Seed", as one of Chekov's henchman in "Mirror, Mirror" and as a Klingon in "Errand of Mercy". * This segment is helped out by the gorgeous locations. The very spot where Leila and Spock discuss the dragons of Berengaria VII can be seen again in "Descent, Part I" of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is in Bronson Canyon, near the famous Hollywood sign. * The large open meadow seen in several sequences is in the Santa Ynez valley in southern California. It is the same spot where the hunt in the corn field took place in Planet of the Apes. It was also extensively used in the series Gunsmoke. * The barn Kelowitz and Sulu investigate can be seen in several episodes of Kung Fu. * In Jerry Sohl's original draft (first titled "Power Play," then "The Way of The Spores"), it was Lt. Sulu who was infected by the spores and was able to fall in love with Leila. * Final draft 15 December 1966, with further revisions 28 December. * Frank Overton died shortly after completing this episode, which was filmed in early January 1967. * The food processors in the transporter room, placed there just so Lt. Kyle could provide chicken soup for the air sergeant in "Tomorrow is Yesterday", disappeared from the room by the end of the first season. In this episode, of course, an enraged Spock destroys one of them. * The preview for this episode shows Leila and Spock by a stream. This didn't survive in the final cut of the episode. In the script, Kirk first spots Spock and Leila kissing passionately by the stream; there is no scene of Spock hanging off the tree limb. * The buildings seen in the teaser, the first scene after and the scene in which DeSalle shows McCoy the Spores are at a different location than the buildings seen in the rest of the episode. One source says the green farm structures were located at the Disney Ranch. * The empty shot of the bridge, before the turbolift opens to admit Kirk, was the best available piece of film for TNG: "Relics" to reuse as the holosimulation of the NCC-1701 bridge. The short snippet of film was "looped" several times and bluescreened in behind James Doohan and Patrick Stewart's scenes. Using the stock footage in this way eliminated the need to completely rebuild the bridge -- they only built a short section of the computer stations, the door alcove and the command stations for the TNG-era actors to sit at. * The plant that sprays Kirk with spores on the bridge is the one he flung in anger after Uhura shorted out the communications console, however, in the wide bridge shots, there is no plant visible. * An episode of The Outer Limits ("Specimen Unknown") also had alien plants that shot spores, although they killed their victims. Wah Chang and Projects Unlimited created those plants and likely, Chang made the ones seen in this segment of Star Trek as well. *James Doohan (Scotty) does not appear in this episode. * This is the last episode in which Eddie Paskey delivers dialogue as Mr. Leslie. * Admiral Komack is mentioned in this episode. We will get to meet him in "Amok Time." An Admiral C'''omack signed the Talos IV Starfleet order seen in "The Menagerie, Part I". Denise and Michael Okuda inform us that the character was named for James Komack, director of A Piece of the Action. * Leonard Nimoy has related that Charles Bronson, then Jill Ireland's boyfriend and later her husband, was constantly on location, jealously watching his and Ireland's love scenes being filmed. * The title comes from the old adage used to denote that a certain area is second only to Paradise (Heaven), i. e., "Southeastern Kentucky is the most beautiful spot this side of Paradise." It is also the same title as one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels. * '''Mystery Science Theater 3000 paid tribute to this episode during the opening host segment in episode 503, "Swamp Diamonds". Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo were obsessing over the scene where Spock does not want to go back to the ship. Crow was Spock, Tom was Leila, and Joel Robinson had to play Kirk angering Spock to make the 'bots snap out of it. *In Stone Trek This Episode Was Spoofed As The Deadly Ears Links and References *VHS edition available through Amazon under ISBN 6300213293. Main Cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura Guest Stars * Jill Ireland as Leila Kalomi * Frank Overton as Elias Sandoval * Grant Woods as Kelowitz * Michael Barrier as DeSalle * Dick Scotter as Painter * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Fred Shue as Crewman # 1 * Bobby Bass as Crewman # 2 * Ron Veto as Kelowitz's opponent * Sean Morgan as Harper (Engineer # 1) * John Lindesmith as Engineer # 2 * C. O’Brien as Kirk stunt double * Bill Catching as Spock stunt double References 2261; 2263; 2264; appendix; Berengaria VII; berthold rays; dragon; Komack; mint julep; Mira; Mira system; Omicron Ceti III; Omicron colony; Omicron pod plant; Omicron spore; pneumonia; Starbase 27; Starfleet Medal of Honor; subsonic transmitter Category:TOS episodes de:Falsche Paradiese es:This Side of Paradise fr:This Side of Paradise nl:This Side of Paradise